Golden State Warriors' Festus Ezeli reacts after a foul is called against him during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press

Warriors center Andrew Bogut spent much of Wednesday night standing in his sports coat helplessly trying to direct defensive traffic from the sideline.

It's nights like these when the Warriors are reminded just how much they miss having the defensive-minded big man on the court. They had no answer for Memphis' hulky frontcourt in the Grizzlies' 94-87 victory.

"I thought early on we had a tough time, because they were more physical and imposed their will on us," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "We had a tough time, not just with their bigs, but with anybody who was on the floor."

The Warriors held Memphis to 39 second-half points on 36.4 percent shooting and fought back from a 14-point deficit to tie it 74-74 with 7:34 remaining. But Memphis reinserted big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in the lineup and powered their way to a victory in what currently would be the Nos. 4-5 matchup in the Western Conference playoffs.

Randolph had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Gasol added 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Grizzlies (23-10) beat the Warriors with precision interior passing and a dominating 60-34 edge in points in the paint. The Warriors haven't given up 60 points in the paint since Denver had 66 in a double-overtime game Nov. 10.

The Warriors (22-12) lost consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 9-10 and have lost to Memphis eight straight times. The latest game illustrates a bigger problem for the Warriors, who have lost twice to the big frontcourts of Memphis, Denver, Orlando, Sacramento and the Lakers.

Bogut continues to rehab his surgically repaired ankle, taking set shots after each practice and putting himself through a mini-workout before the seventh consecutive sellout crowd piled into Oracle Arena on Wednesday. The team is not offering a timeline for his return.

After watching Memphis' big men dominate for the majority of the game, Jackson used centers Andris Biedrins and Festus Ezeli in the same lineup for as many defensive possessions as he could in the final four minutes. But nothing worked.

Memphis had seven offensive rebounds and 20 points in the paint in the fourth quarter. Randolph, who had his league-leading 23rd double-double, scored eight in the final 7:34.

Rudy Gay, who had 18 points, scored six in the final quarter, including a contested jumper that put Memphis ahead 90-84 with 1:16 remaining. Stephen Curry made a three-pointer to trim the deficit to three points with 32 seconds left, but Randolph scored the game's final four points.

"In the fourth quarter - he'd never say it - but he was drained," Jackson said of Lee. "It's a lot to ask him to battle Zach Randolph and then to be an impact player on the offensive end, being involved in every play. I thought he gave me everything he had."